Life-boat.



Patent d H. s. cAnLEv. B juw 4, |899.

LIFE BOAT.

(Application filed Apr. 22., 1899.)

' (No Model.)

O im iff.

mf/ Lfm/ MM50? we Norms wr'rrzns co., Now-mma. WASHINGTON. u. n

:NITED STATES PATENT Fries.

i-IORAOE s. OARLEY, or BOSTON, MnssAeHUsur'rs;` l

Lina-BOAT. A

srrzorrrcATIoN forming bart of Letters Patent No. 627,979, dated July 4,189e.

Application iiled April 22, 1899.

Q'o all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HORACE S. CARLEY, a

citizen of the UnitedStates of America, and

a resident of Boston, Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and usefulImprovement in Life-l3oats,which invention is fully lset forth in thefollowing specification.

This invention has reference to life-boats, kmore particularly of acollapsible type adapted to be stored at convenient places onboard ofvessels or ships of all characters and'at docks, wharves, or the likeand to be used only in case of emergency, such as sinking of the'vesselor other accident endangering the livesof people by drowning. l

I. am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to construct such aboat of an outer the fact that none of the constructions heretoforeproposed have been capable of meeting the requirements of successfuluse.

It is the object of mypresent invention to provide a construction thatwill eiiciently meet all of these requirements and prove a reliable andever-ready means of saving the lives of people in the most turbulentseas.

Among the many requirements above referred to mention may be made of thefollowing: The life-boat mustA be collapsible and when collapsed must bevery compact, so as to occupy the least space-possible on board of aship,where space is always at a premium, and for the further reason thatupon the space occupied by each `life-boat when thus stored oftendepends the number of such boats carried by a vessel or ship, andconsequently the completeness of its life-saving equipment.

It must be capable of withstanding severe shocks and strains, as whenthrown overboard it strikes the surface of the Water with great force,and must withstand all kinds of weather.

Serial No. 714,149. (Nomodel.)

Its efficiency mustr not be affected by non# usage, as boats of .thischaracter` are often allowed to remain stored for long periods of timewithout even being tested. It must of course be reversible, so that itwill right itself no matter which side strikes and rests in the water,and, further,it must be practically ,y structure that novices may easilyhandle and manipulate the saine.

The life-boat constructed in accordance vwith and embodying my presentinvention will, it is believed, ,meet all of the requirementsofsuccessful use and willbe best un-` derstood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, whereinf` l Figure l is a perspective viewshowing the bottom of the boat extended. Fig. 2 is a perspective view insection through the buoyant ring. Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. et asection, of the flat .part o'f theV bottom. Fig. V5 is an enlargedsectional View through the buoyant ring, and Fg.6 is a perspectivesectional view showing the drag. or ballastbag supported from theringson the buoyant frame.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the buoyant frame or ring,consisting of an inner tube a, (or there may be a plurality vof such`tubes,) of suitable length, made, preferably,

of a material ,such as rubber composition and lled with air either at ior slightly above atmospheric pressure. Abouttube d are tightlypackedlayers of cork b, which not only conf tribute to the buoyancy ofthe ring, butprotect the inner tube. A covering c, of canvas or similarmaterial, is tightly'bound around the cork, and to still furtherstrengthen and protect the whole I prefer to completely cover ,f

the canvas with rope wound in convolutions thereabout.

The shell of the boat, or what may more properly be said to be the hullthereof, consists of a flexible part D, shown in the drawings as a net,which is preferred, although it may be of canvas orof some other suchmaterial impervious to water. vNet D has along its upper edge abinding-rope d, to which are secured at suitable intervals cringles oreyelets d', through which pass rings d2 of rope.

IOO

' formed of two layers of canvas e c, (see Figs.

3 and 4,) fastened together along their. edges, and between which areinterposed cross-slats e2, of wood, connected bya longitudinal slat e',

which impart rigidity to bottom E.

A very important feature of the invention is the marine drags `orwPater-bags F F', eachr made of flexible fabric, such as canvas,attached along the open end of the bag to a hoop f3 and connected,respectively, to opposite sides of at bottom E by means of linesff. Onthe under side of. each bag is attached a weight f', which insures itssinking to the limit allowed by lines ff and filling with water. Astring f2, running down inside of each bag F F' and secured at thebottom thereof, enables the same to be turned inside outand drawn upagainst bottom E when not desired to be used. In Fig. l of the drawingsthe lifeboat is shown extended to the form it takes when `resting in thewater, the bag F being suspended from the under side thereof and thelines f f held taut. Bag F in this figure is collapsed and rests againstthe upper side of the flat bottom E.

4Of course in the event of the boat being thrown into the water in areversed positionthat is to say, with whatis the upper side in Fig.1,down`tl1en the bag F would fill with water and bag F would rest in acollapsed condition against bottom E.

Instead of attaching the bags F F to the bottom E, I prefer to suspendthem, as shown in Fig. 6, by means of four ropes f4, having eyelets attheir upper ends engaging about four of the rings cl2, respectively. Inthis manner the pull of `the bag is brought directly on the buoyant ringand the bottom E subjected to no strain'whatever from this cause. Aroundthe outer edge of buoyant ring A runs a life-line H, attached atintervals in eyelets lt, through which" rings d2 pass. `To line H aresecured a number of auxiliary life-lines t', having thereon floats i',which keep them on the surface of the water and within reach of a personin the water in theV vicinity of the boat. Around the inner edge of theframe A and hanging loosely between eyelets d are two strips of fabricla lo, one on each side of net D. Each span from eyelet to eyelet ofthat strip k which happens to be within the net D when the boat is inthe wa ter forms a seat for one of the occupants of the boat.

When the life-boat' herein described is not in use, it will of course beunderstood that it is collapsed, the net D, bottom E, and bags F and F'being folded together within the buoyant ring A. When thrown overboard,no matter which side of the ring A strikes the Water the bottom E willdrop, and as the net D becomes taut eyelets d will slide along the ringscl2 to a position at or near the under side thereof, so that the pulldue to the weight of occupantsof the boat will be (more or less)directly on the under side of the buoyant .ring A. Unnecessary strainson the net, eyelets,

and rings are thus prevented, and a shorter ,depth of netting may beused than if the edge of the net were fixed to the buoyant frame along aline around the inner edge thereof. At the same time thatone of the bagsF F' which happens to be on the under side of the bottom E fills withwater and sinks the length of lines f f. The sunken ballast or drag thusprovided acts to balance and steady the boat and is an efcientprotection against capsizing, particularly in rough weather and in thecase of a cross-cut sea. When it is desiredto row or paddle the boat,the bag is turned in-` what I claim as new, and desire to secure by l.In a collapsible reversible life-boat, the combination with a buoyantbody of annular or similar continuous forrn, of a flat bottom, aflexible part secured at one'edge around the edge of said bottom,eyelets arranged at suitable intervalsalong the other edge of theflexible part, and rings on the buoyant body passing through saideyelets and on which they are adapted to freely slide, the space withinthe buoyant body being entirely free from obstructionswhereby the bottomand flexible part may drop through and depend from either side thereof.

2. In a collapsible reversible life-boat, the combination with a buoyantbody of annular or similar continuous form, of a collapsible body,secured to and adapted to depend from either side of said buoyant body,and a bag suspended beneath said parts and adapted when filled withwater to constitute a marine drag or ballast. f

3. In a collapsible reversible life-boat, the combination with a buoyantbody of annular or similar continuous form, of a collapsible bodysecured to and adapted to depend from either side of said buoyant body,a bag suspen ded beneath said parts and adapted when tlled with water toconstitute a marine drag or ballast, and a line whereby said bag may beemptied and pulled up out of position for use.

4. In a collapsible reversible life-boat, the combination with a buoyantbody of annular or similar continuous form, of a collapsible bodysecured to and adapted to depend from either side of said buoyant body,and two bags one' connected on each side of the buoyant and collapsibleparts and severally adapted when filled with water to constitute amarine drag or ballast.

5. In a collapsible reversible life-boat, the combination with-abuoyantbody of annular or similar continuous form, of a collapsible bodyhaving eyelets disposed at suitable intervals along its edge, rings onthe buoyant body passing through said eyelets and on which they freelyslide, and two bags one on each side of the collapsible body connectedto a suitable number of said rings by lines,

and adapted when filled with Water to constitute a marine drag orballast.

6. In a life-boat of the kind described, the combination with a buoyantbody of annular or similar continuous form consisting of an inner tubefilled with air, layers of cork tightly packed around said air-tube, anda covering of canvas or similar material about said cork, of acollapsible body secured Within said buoyant body and adapted to dependfrom either side thereof.

7. In a life-boat of the kind described, the combination with a buoyantbody of annular or similar continuous form consisting of an inner tubefilled with air, layers of cork tightly packed around said air-tube, anda covering zo of canvas, and an outer covering of cord or rope wo undabout the canvas, of a collapsible body secured within said buoyant bodyand adapted to depend from either side thereof.

8. In a life-boat of the kind described, the combination with a buoyantbody of annular or similar continuous form, of a flexible part connectedalong one edge to the buoyant body and secured at its other edge to theedge of a lat bottom, said bottom consisting of two layers of canvas orsimilar material having interposed therebetween longitudinal and lateralstiffening-slats.

In `testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

HORACE S. CARLEY.

